Haste

In the middle of nowhere. That, of course, was where Brennan's water had to break, followed straightaway with contractions coming at only a minute apart. They had been on their way to a crime scene, over three hours away, and Booth cursed himself for not being able to convince Brennan that the remains could be brought to the lab. He should have just given the techs the go-ahead and accepted Brennan's wrath later.

Their faces mirrored each other in initial panic. Even the cool-headed, rational scientist could not help pausing for a moment to experience the complete surprise in the direction this pregnancy had suddenly taken before returning to the logical approach to the situation.

Booth turned on his siren and was trying to plug information into the console computer to help him find the nearest hospital when Brennan managed to order him, between the powerful labor pains, to pull over.

"Booth. You're going to make us crash. That is not good for the baby."

"And having it out here in the middle of nowhere is?"

"I agree it is not ideal," she paused to close her eyes and focused on relaxing and making it through the contraction. "But," she continued, "giving birth does not actually require a hospital."

"Yeah, okay, I know you said that women in the past have just 'squatted in the field' then kept working afterwards, but that doesn't mean that's what should happen, okay? I'm a good driver; I've got the siren. Let me get us to the safety of a hospital."

"Oh," Brennan gave a gentle gasp, and she felt Booth's hand slip into hers. "There's no time, Booth," she breathed out and involuntarily squeezed his hand in a vice-like grip.

To his credit, he did not grimace at her grip. Instead, his worry only increased. What if something went wrong? What if the baby didn't come out like it was supposed to? What if something happened to Brennan during the birth? What then? He was supposed to be able to handle any emergency situation, and how often had he been in dangerous situations and barely felt any traces of fear? And now, suddenly, he was terrified.

As the contraction subsided, Brennan looked over to see Booth's worried expression. She rested her head back on the seat as she looked at him reassuringly, but was unable to give him the words he needed as yet another contraction overtook her. She squeezed his hand again, and somehow this was enough to propel him into action.

"Okay, okay." He jumped out of the SUV and dialed Cam's number as he raced around to Brennan's door. "C'mon, Bones. Let me help you out. You're right. Who needs a hospital, right? That's not our style. We'll just—"

Brennan gave him a weak smile as Cam's voice came through Booth's phone, interrupting him.

"Booth, are you two at the crime scene already?"

"No. But we need your help." He paused as he guided Brennan's arm around his shoulders and wrapped one of his around her waist. "Alright. I got you, Bones. Let's go."

"Booth? Is Dr. Brennan alright? What's going on?"

Booth had only gotten Brennan to a standing position when she'd needed to stop, lean on him, and work through another contraction. It was a painstakingly long and halted conversation, but Booth managed to fill Cam in on the situation and guide Brennan a few feet away to a tree she had pointed at. Booth tried to argue for the back of the SUV, Brennan said there wasn't enough room, and Cam ordered Booth to do exactly as Brennan wanted and to get her as comfortable as possible on the ground with the tree as support.

Getting from the SUV to the tree that was only a few feet away seemed to take an eternity, in spite of the urgent nature of the situation. Contractions were coming so frequently and powerfully that it was extremely difficult for Brennan to walk through them.

"Okay. It's okay, Bones. We'll get there."

"I assure you, Booth, that it is all okay. In fact, I am quite pleased with the strength of these contractions. I believe that means I should have no trouble pushing the baby out."

At these words, Booth blanched. Push the baby out. Out into where? Oh God. He was going to have to catch the baby. That reality hadn't hit him until just now. They finally managed to get Brennan settled on the ground with Booth's jacket cushioning her back against the rough bark edges of the tree. Booth stepped away for just a moment to rasp into the phone, "Cam. You gotta help me out."

"Seeley, what exactly is it that you are thinking I can do, here?"

"You're a medical doctor, Camille," he said in impatience.

"Do you know how many specialties there are in the medical field, Seeley?"

"Fine! What about Paul? Where is he?"

"Coincidentally, in the middle of one of his own patient's births. I'll help you. I'm just not an expert, okay?"

"Booth, this baby is coming whether you can handle it or not," Brennan panted out, desperately fighting the urge to push.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God. Right. Okay." He wiped his brow even though there wasn't anything to wipe away. The situation he feared most had not magically disappeared by this gesture. This was really happening. How was this happening? Couldn't anything go like it should with them?

He quickly pulled random supplies from the truck, rejoined Brennan, and helped her prepare. Another five minutes that felt like thirty and Brennan was ready with a blanket across the top of her as a concession to Booth's own vision of modesty.

"You should double check to see if she's fully dilated before we have her start pushing," Cam told him.

"How do I do that?"

As Cam described what to do, Booth blanched. "I have to do what?"

"Booth," Brennan gasped in exasperation, "it isn't as if your fingers haven't been there before."

"Not like this." In a hushed whisper he added, "And not all of them at the same time."

"Buck up, Seeley, and just do it," Cam admonished him.

He took a deep breath and did as he was told, confirming what they already knew: Brennan could push whenever she was ready.

"I'm sorry," Booth said quietly.

"It didn't hurt, Booth."

"No, not about that… well yeah actually about that, but also about getting us stranded out here, and about the timing of everything."

"Booth."

"For rushing you. For almost missing our chance. Because I'm still that guy, Bones, I'm still that guy. I don't care if you can't see it. I still can, and I'm sorry I let other things, other people get in the way."

Brennan had no response for him as her contractions had changed, and the first wave of the ones that would help introduce their baby to the world overtook her. They both heard Cam counting to ten in a loud voice, then stop and count again. Before she finished the second count, the contraction faded and Brennan leaned back against the tree again, breathing heavily, then met Booth's eyes. Her gaze was already showing signs of weariness from the fast and frantic pace her body was working at. But it was filled with a gentleness and compassion.

Seeing her expression, Booth didn't need any words, didn't want any. She needed to conserve her energy. He merely took her hands into his own and said, "I love you. Whether you like it or not, whether you believe it or not, I will always love you, and will never leave you."

"I love you, too." Brennan was almost thankful for the next wave of contractions, saving her from the high emotion of the moment, not realizing the intensity of emotions yet to come.

Cam's voice came through again, counting in a suddenly fuzzier voice, and Booth wanted to laugh for forgetting that she was still there. And he might have, if he hadn't seen the most amazing thing of his entire life at that moment.

"Bones! Bones! I can see the head! Oh God, it's amazing. You're doing great."

And with the next push, out came the rest of the head, shoulders, and suddenly, their baby was here. With tears of joy, he lifted the baby onto Brennan's lap, and moved next to her, feeling nothing but awe at his new child and the amazing woman that brought that child into his life.

Brennan could only feel Booth's presence next to her, because she only had eyes for the tiny life in front of her. And in that tiny life, and in that presence next to her, she thought about how Booth said he was "that guy", but what he didn't know was that she was now also that woman.

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A/N: In case you by chance doubt the realistic nature of labor happening this fast, I assure you, it can and did to a very dear friend of mine. She was at home and very near to the hospital, so did not have to give birth in the middle of nowhere, but babies come when they come. ;-)